Chapter 11: "Cloak And Dagger."
The shipping towns of the Keyes had always been busy ports: ships streaming in and weighing anchor at all hours, countless stevedores and sailors as busy as ants, and the docks piled high with cargo. But as we neared the outer gates of Sapphire Sands, I saw that there was surprisingly little boats docked in their harbor. Instead there were large, silver vehicles that weren't quite boats, hovering in their own spots in the harbor, not one of them actually touching the surface of the water. I suppose just normal boats was too simple for the rich execs of Cobalt to travel around the island in.
Beautiful beaches lined the coast, as the night sky descended unto the Keyes. Near the islands southern slope, however, lay a channel of treacherous shoals, studded here and there with great boulders that still bore scars of ancient shipwrecks, and as a consequence this southern part of the harbor was always quite still. It was here, in this serene slice of the island surrounded by a large camera lined gate, that the resort of Sapphire Stands stood, a technological marvel, built to suit the needs and desires of even the snootiest of rich ponies.
The outside was heavily guarded, with the only clear way in being through a massive gate made entirely of horizontal laser beams. As we moved swiftly down a seldom used road, I felt all those security cameras suddenly turn to look at us as we approached the gate. Spotlights had turned on and moved their beams back and forth over the area, only heightening my nerves even more.
Benny leaned in to quickly whisper something in my ear. "I'll hack into their surveillance feed and keep an eye on things for you," he said. "I'll be in your ear the whole time, don't worry."
I smiled at him. I knew where I was heading, but it wasn't the first time I had boldly (or rather foolishly is more appropriate) gone into an obviously dangerous and risky situation, and in those experiences I had managed to keep a cool head.
I only hoped I could keep it up this time around.
Stopping at the gate, two ponies clad in shiny white guard armor bearing the Cobalt logo, stepped out from their guard house and approached the hovercraft. The guards were a young mare and and colt, wearing sunglasses and smiles. "May I help you?" asked the mare, peering in. The mare was polite and cheery, the picture of friendliness. The other guard also smiled, but I could tell he was studying us with great attention.
Benny reached into his pocket and withdrew a small piece of paper, stamped with the cobalt logo on the back, and something written on the front. The mare took it and gave it a quick look. "Wait here please." The mare stepped back into the guardhouse. The other guard stayed put. He cocked his head to the side to hear what the mare was telling him through his earpiece, but he kept his eyes on the hovercraft.
I hadn't any idea what it was he had given the guard, but I stayed calm, knowing my reputation on the island probably had these two quite concerned, it would only be worse if they knew how anxious I really was about all this. This entire place was Cobalt territory. There would be cameras on me at all times, and one wrong move would mean Simon would know I had found out about him.
My greatest strength right now, was that Simon didn't know that I had discovered who he was. This way I could find out more about his operation, and mainly, find out who was helping him and his cult. I had to make sure they thought I was just another tourist.
I looked over to Benny, and he gave the most subtle of nods, assuring me everything would work out. After several minutes, the mare came back, her smile hadn't faded in the slightest. I just had time to wonder whether this meant she did or did not have good news for us, when she came up to Benny and said "Welcome, sir! You and Ms. Meir are all clear to head on into the resort. I'll radio for them to lower the force field."
As Benny thanked her and we drove in under the large archway, we both released deep breaths. "What was that you gave her?" I asked, as soon as we were out of earshot.
Benny chuckled. "A vacation waver, good for two guests to stay at Sapphire Sands as VIPs." He explained, "I might not be in charge of Cobalt anymore, but my signature still means quite a bit to these guys."
With those words fresh in my mind, we saw a massive structure loom in the near distance. There it was: Sapphire Sands.
The place looked less like a resort and more like an arrangement of futuristic, stark white art pieces, with small dots lining each surface. These dots, as I could see, were windows. A broad plaza stretched out in front of the place welcoming the many ponies clad in business suits and fancy dresses up to its large sets of double doors. A massive silver sculpture of an atom was the centerpiece of the plaza. From the sides of the plaza, water poured down in calming waterfalls, adding a touch of serenity to the overall futuristic theme of the resort. A flagpole jutted from the lush gardens that dotted areas around the plaza, supporting a long blue flag that rippled in the breeze. Printed upon the flag, in letters large enough to read from the ground, was the words Sapphire Sands, written in large cursive blue lettering.
Benny parked the hovercraft out front and I got out, taking in the splendor of the place. Beautiful as the place was, I didn't forget that this place was nothing but a resort for the rich execs of Cobalt. This place, all this technology, should've been open to the public. Instead it was here, laundering away the vacation days of the high ranking employees of a company that was being used to destroy the world.
But there was no time to think about that now. I had to find Quill Feather. I only hoped she would actually be here, considering her infamous reputation among her employees. It was possible she didn't even take vacations, allowing her to work as much as she needed for Simon's plans.
That didn't stop me from trying though.
Sapphire Sands Resort, 5:22 pm
After Benny had said farewell, I made my way up through the plaza and up to the double doors, into the welcome center. I reached for the handle of the door, except there was no handle to reach for. Also surprisingly, there was no need to even open the door, as it gently slid back by itself, letting me walk through.
The main hall was an extravagant white corridor, with a moving floor that carried guests to the reception desk. All around me, ponies chatted happily, as strange looking gadgets and lights beeped and hummed to themselves on the walls, along with the calm, serene sounding music that played throughout the place. (Even the walls were extremely advanced, apparently.)
As the floor moved of its own accord, I looked up to see several inconspicuous black circles (Cameras, I thought) peering down, watching every move every guest made on their way to reception. Before I would even get into the place, I was being watched. Lovely.
Before I could get a closer look, I was nearly scared out of my wits by a small robot monitor, that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere in front of me. A video played on its screen, showing a pretty young mare with a plum colored mane, wearing some sort of pure white, skin tight jumpsuit with the cobalt logo clearly seen on the front. She smiled at the perspective guest, watching as a backdrop of a sky could be seen behind her. In this case, the guest was me.
"Hello." she said, soothingly. "Welcome To Sapphire Sands, the world's most advanced and most relaxing resort. While you are here, we ask that you leave all your troubles and struggles of daily life at the door. Here, we have taken everyone's needs into consideration to ensure that you will have the most delightful and soothing vacation experience."
She seemed nice enough, but I could read her eyes: Cold and calculating, like a robot. She clearly was only doing a job, having to say and record this once, and then these robots would give the message out for her. I suppose if it was easier.
I tuned out the rest of the video that addressed company policies, employee discounts and the like. I had no time for any of that, I was here for Quill Feather. Hopefully the receptionist could point me in the right direction.
Reception Area, 5:25 pm
White and futuristic was clearly the theme of this place. The reception area was a large circular room with several large sets of stairs leading up to the other levels of the resort. There were several comfortable looking chairs and couches, with foot rests and lamps to use for reading at night. The receptionist sat behind a large desk that enclosed her, with only a small door in the back being her way out (Either that or climbing over the desk.)
She was a pretty silver colored unicorn with a pearly white mane that looked well taken care of and elegant. She wore the same stylish, white jumpsuit as the mare in the video. She smiled to herself as she tapped her hooves busily on a terminal in front of her. Hopefully she would be able to help me find Quill Feather.
I began to cross the room over to her, when I looked down to see the entire floor was clear glass. Beneath it, rushing water churned serenely in large, foamy swirls, making it seem I was standing just above a deep ocean. I managed to stop staring at the floor long enough to actually talk to the receptionist, who instantly turned away from her terminal to greet me.
"Hello!,' she said with a perky smile. "Welcome to Sapphire Sands! My name is Radiant Light, and I'm here to answer any questions you may have about the resort or anything else really. Now, what can I do to make your stay even more enjoyable, today?"
Questions. Good. Cause I had a few of them.
Questioning (Radiant Light, Receptionist at Sapphire Sands, May have information regarding Quill Feather)
I was curious about this place, naturally. Why build a place with tech this advanced? Was there really a need for it all? But there would be time for that later. For now, I only needed the answer to one question: "Is Miss Quill Feather here? I was hoping to talk to her about something." I asked politely.
Radiant nodded and smiled. "She is indeed, but she's been asked not to be disturbed. Something about having very important work to go through. I hope you understand."
"Of course. Did she say when she would be finished?"
"I'm afraid not. I could phone her room and let her know you wish to speak to her, if you'd like." Radiant suggested.
In all likelihood, she knew I was here already. With all these cameras, plus the guards at the gate, it was clear to them that I was here for something. I had hoped she would simply come down to see me herself, but it looked like she wanted me to find her myself. Fine.
"Yes, that would be fine." I said simply. I thanked Radiant, and waited for her to begin dialing in Quill's extension. Then we waited.
And waited.
Then after a minute I heard the subtle sound of the receiver on the other end being picked up. Radiant turned away as she talked into the receiver in a hushed tone, ensuring I wouldn't hear the conversation between the two.
She was being cautious. I didn't blame her. It wasn't everyday somepony like Quill was asked to be seen specifically. Especially by me.
After a minute, she hung up the phone and smiled at me. "Thank you for your patience. Miss Quill Feather will see you now. The elevator will take you the top floor, where you can find her private room at the end of the large hallway. It will be unlocked for you." she explained.
"What led her to agreeing to see me so quickly?" I asked politely.
Radiant shrugged. "I'm not sure,' she said, But she mentioned something about you two needing to talk. Immediately."
I thanked Radiant for her help and made my way to the elevator. As I watched the floors go by one by one, I had time to think out what I would do when I confronted Quill.
If she really was Simon's partner in all this, if she was helping the cult and providing resources with her warehouse, then she wouldn't be easy to bring down. She would've taken precautions, set up her office so I wouldn't see anything incriminating against her.
Of course, I already knew her warehouse was used as a safe house by the Setting Sun. All I needed now was evidence that this was the case. But then again even if I did find evidence, the police wouldn't be any help, as I knew now. The best thing to do was simply talk with her, although if I wasn't going to talk about her being Simon's partner, it had to be something worth taking her time. I had to have a good reason to have asked to see one of the highest ranked executives of Cobalt.
Of course, I knew quite a bit. And I came from a family of scientists. I'm sure I could think of a few things I could discuss that would convince her. If not, I suppose the only thing I had left was to try and convince her to stop doing what she was doing.
After all, no sensible pony would be doing something like this....unless they either thought they had to, or they were being forced to.
My thoughts left me as the door dinged to alert my arrival to the top floor of the resort. The doors opened to a long white hallway, where a large mechanical door awaited at the very end.
I made my way through the hall and to the door, where I raised my hoof to knock. But the voice on the other side stopped me. "There's no need for that. The doors unlocked. Let's talk." The voice was calm and beautiful, like that of a singer. Yet, it was also firm and filled with a great, almost tangible sense of superiority.
The doors opened. Inside was a lavish office with several paintings of mountains and calming seas. On the wall was a large mantra written in Japanese. It said "Greatness from small beginnings" in a series of kanji. There were also many swords on display in large glass cases.
Over by the desk, a slender figure in a rich black suit and tie, stood as she poured cider into two glasses. Her wings were tucked gracefully at her sides, as she turned to look at me. Quill Feather's eyes were the first thing I noticed: Narrowed and beautiful with unique pupils that looked like razor sharp sapphires, sharpened to an even finer point then any sword. They scanned me in the breadth of a second and, having apparently found nothing they need concern with, softened. But the Pegasus's scowl was still clearly seen.
She did not smile, as she turned back around. "I must say', she said putting the top back on the large crystal decanter that held the cider, "I was expecting more. At least give me the courtesy of stalking me, or perhaps breaking into my office after you confirm that I wouldn't be here. But simply asking to talk to me? I wasn't expecting something so.....civilian, from the smartest pony in the world."
I stood there, unmoving. She knew. She knew why I was here, and what I wanted from her. Fine. Made this easier for the both of us, anyways.
Quill took the glasses in her hooves and looked at me.
Some semblance of a smile formed on her face, as she held out one glass to me. "Well, you obviously came her for something." she said nonchalantly.
"Let's chat, shall we?"